COWI, a leading international engineering consulting group, celebrates a significant milestone in the offshore wind development of Empire Wind 1, located in the New York Bight. Contracted by Equinor to design wind turbine foundations, COWI North America, which is headquartered in New York with offices across North America, has achieved approval from the Certified Verification Agent DNV for its work on the Empire Wind 1 project.
Utilizing state-of-the-art modelling tools, extensive global industry experience, and a multidisciplinary collaborative approach, COWI developed optimized foundation designs for 54 15MW turbines, set to generate 810MW.
The design not only exceeds industry standards, but also minimizes the steel weight, reducing both costs and embodied carbon. This achievement was a product of extensive collaboration across COWI's US and global network, involving a multitude of engineers from different specialisms including structural, geotechnics, hydrodynamics, electrical, health and safety highlighting the company's commitment to leveraging its diverse expertise and knowledge.
As part of the design process, COWI implemented advanced methods to analyze and model the behavior of the complex soil conditions where the foundations will be installed. This was crucial to ensure the structure's stability and safety, as understanding the soil's properties and behavior helped COWI design foundations that could withstand various stresses and loads.
Additionally, COWI conducted thorough research which enhanced estimates of wave run-up loads on monopile structures for offshore wind turbines, advancing structural design significantly, allowing for more precise structural designs of offshore wind turbines under extreme wave conditions without compromising on safety.
Greg Matzat, Vice President and Market Director for Offshore Renewables at COWI North America comments ‘We are thrilled to play a key role in the Empire Wind project and to see our wind turbine foundation design approved. The project is pivotal in supporting New York State’s goal of achieving 70% renewable energy by 2030. We are thankful to Equinor for giving us the opportunity to collaborate with them, providing innovation and value to Empire Wind 1.”
The fabrication phase of the monopiles will start in August 2024, with completion and installation planned during the summer of 2025.
